Useless
by KMFBRose
Summary: Ishida has lost his powers, and his confidence. Can Ichigo help him?


**I don't own Bleach. What a shame. I hope you like the story, and if you do please review!**

Ishida's hand wavered, and he dropped the bow. His tears were swept away in the current of the river he stood in. Ishida sighed, and stepped onto the sandy bank, his hands shaking, his Quincy cross swinging uselessly from is wrist. Useless. That's all he was. With no powers, he wasn't needed. Ishida shuddered and dropped to his knees, burying his face in his hands. Quiet sobs racked his body.

"Ishida!" someone called from the woods nearby. The former Quincy's head shot up and he hurried to wipe the tears from behind his glasses. "Ishida we – are you alright?" Ishida nodded as the orange haired soul reaper stepped out from between the trees.

"I'm fine," he mumbled as he stood and turned to go. "If you would please leave me alone," he said over his shoulder. Ichigo watched as his friend started to walk away, and reached forward to grab his arm.

"Hey! That's total crap. What's going on? You've tried your best to avoid us ever since we got back from the Soul Society." Ishida swallowed hard, but didn't turn or respond. Ichigo walked around to face Ishida, and grabbed his shoulders. "Look at me Ishida." The other boy pulled away and cast his eyes to the ground. "What are you so ashamed of?" Ichigo asked quietly.

"Nothing!" Ishida shouted, his blue eyes blazing. "I'm not ashamed of anything," he said, his voice subdued, his eyes focused on the ground again.

"This is about your powers, isn't it?" Ichigo said as the truth dawned on him. When he got no response Ichigo slowly wrapped his arms around the boy's slim frame.

Ishida tensed at the close contact, but soon forgot that the teen holding him had once been his rival. He gave in to Ichigo's warmth and collapsed into his arms.

"I can't . . . you don't need me anymore," he whispered. Ichigo sighed and held the black-haired boy closer.

"I don't want to hear this crap," he said softly. "Of course I need you." Ishida felt the tears falling again, but did nothing to stop them. He buried his face in Ichigo's shoulder, and let the Shinigami hold him up.

"But why? Why could you possibly need me?" Ichigo stroked his hair and placed a soft kiss on his forehead.

"Because Ishida. I love you." Ishida looked up, eyes wide. "I have for some time now. I love everything about you, and I don't want to watch you walk away. I will hold on to you for as long as I can." Ishida couldn't speak. He stared at the orange haired teen in shock. "Hey, say something," Ichigo said, his typical scowl firmly in place. Ishida just stared at him. With a sigh of frustration Ichigo tilted his head up and kissed Ishida's soft lips. He was met with no resistance and it made up for the Quincy's lack of response earlier. "I don't want to hear you talk about yourself that way again." He looked into Ishida's eyes. "Alright?" Ishida nodded and clung to Ichigo.

"Thank you," he whispered. Ichigo smiled.

"You don't have to thank me." Then Ichigo remembered why he had come looking for Ishida in the first place. "Oh yeah, and everyone else wanted to know if you would come to dinner with us. We're eating at Inoue's unfortunately, but you should come." Ishida wiped the remaining tears from his cheeks.

"Of course I'll come. It would be quite rude not to," he retorted, and Ichigo smiled. He was talking like himself again.

Ichigo walked towards Orihime's house, Ishida's hand clasped in his own. They had reached her street when Ishida paused.

"What if I get in the way? What if the rest of them don't need me anymore? They can't rely on me, I -" Ichigo cut him off quickly.

"They trust you Ishida. They trust you to have confidence, and to try even without your powers. You could never let them down. You're their friend, and they all understand what you lost." Ishida looked into warm brown eyes, and knew he was telling the truth. Ichigo kissed him, and ran his hand through Ishida's soft black hair. He broke away and smiled again. "Come on, let's go inside. We can get back to this later."

As Ishida made his way inside he felt himself relax. Ichigo was right. He shouldn't have been so worried. They were his friends after all. Ichigo. His heart gave a little start. He had tried to distance himself from the other boy in fear of rejection. He smiled at his foolishness. Who would have thought that Ichigo, the bold, confident Shinigami, had loved him back?


End file.
